The Alt Weekly Roundup (12/9/24)

Posted: 9th December, 2024 by The Alt Editing Staff

The Alternative Weekly Roundup is a column where our staff plugs a variety of new releases in a concise, streamlined format. Albums, singles, videos, and live sets. Check back each Monday to see what we were jamming the week prior.

Monterey / Keep Reaching – Split

Two of Florida’s most exciting new metalcore bands have teamed up to end the year off with a bang. Monterey doubles their output with the two songs included here, taking a slighly cleaner and more melodic route than on their EP from April; “To Be Transparent,” particularly, is a much more patient song than either of the tracks they’d released previously, featuring a minute-long instrumental bridge that gradually builds in intensity. Keep Reaching, on the other hand, turn in two even heavier songs than anything off May’s To Be Opened Upon My Death. “Broken Cycle” is blistering, unrelenting, and their noisy, lo-fi take on “How Soon Is Now?” proves Marr and Morrissey’s songwriting works in any context.

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison

Heading North – We’re So Back

Heading North’s We’re So Back EP released in May is a gem of riffy, energetic pop-punk elevated both by Asha Edson’s powerhouse vocals and the tightness and creativity of the band underneath them. The group carries that same spark in their new double single, sounding extremely comfortable playing together while also willing to push their musical boundaries. “Expired Kohl’s Cash” is a straight ripper with gnarly riffs, some kinetic drumming, and an impressive guitar solo complementing the soaring chorus from Edson. “Good Grief, Idaho” drops the tempo a bit without dropping the riffs or energy, as the tune wends its way from bombastic to hushed in the final minute.

Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject

Broken Record / A Place for Owls – Jimmy Eat World Split

Denver emo. Mesa emo. Denver’s Broken Record and A Place for Owls both contributed Jimmy Eat World covers for a split to benefit the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, each picking deep cuts from decidedly different eras of the band. Broken Record went for “What I Would Say to You Now,” a Static Prevails b-side that befits their scrappy, fuzzed-out indie rock sound, and their take would fit nicely on Nothing Moves Me; A Place for Owls took on “Polaris,” one of the more underrated Futures tracks, a dramatic five-minute ballad that’s recontextualized here as a clear antecedent to sweeping how we dig in the earth songs like “haunted” or “help me let the right ones in.” Neither band dabbles with the source material the way that Keep Reaching did with “How Soon Is Now?”–if it ain’t broke, etc.–but they’re two great covers for a great cause.

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison

Expose – “Reverse 3”

The third single off Expose’s LP ETC is a noisy, funky blur of post-punk. “Reverse 3” plays like a cover of a The Future of What deep cut as interpreted by aliens.

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison

Jimmy Montague – “Only One for Me (Live at Two Worlds)”

Jimmy Montague’s silky smooth Tomorrow’s Coffee has remained in steady rotation over here since its February release. Soulful, immediate, and popping with energy, it’s the best Montague release yet—due both to James Palko’s sharp songwriting and the talented group he got to fill out the horn parts, rhythm section, lead guitar lines, and backing vocals that bring his jazzy ’70s world to life. Everything about the record that is so great is on full display in the new live session of single “Only One for Me,” which gets Palko in the same room (Two Worlds Studio) with his crew of collaborators. As Palko usually tours as an acoustic solo artist, it’s great to have sessions like this that can show his vision for the Jimmy Montague records fully realized in a live setting.

Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject

red sun / bonus – Unnecessary Riffness

Big week for splits, huh? Unnecessary Riffness, I think, is probably the most succinct example of where emo is right now and where it’s probably headed. Oklahoma’s red sun and Florida’s bonus approach the style from different angles–red sun clearly loves stuff like Prince Daddy and Mom Jeans and bonus has more of a wiry, frenetic energy to their sound–but both sides complement one another nicely. “Boomer” and “Sooner” both start off softly before exploding into rafter-shaking singalongs; bonus picks up right where their standalone “bug” single left off, with “Chalkzone” being the highlight of their half, a math rock freakout that showcases every trick they’ve got in a relatively epic four minutes. Now that’s what I call emo.

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison

The Alternative’s ‘New Music Friday’ playlist

Each week we compile a playlist of songs our staff has been jamming. We post it on Fridays and then include it in each edition of the Weekly Roundup to make sure you don’t miss any of the great music we’re recommending.

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